Developmental investigation of fear-potentiated startle across puberty.

Biological Psychology
Anja SchmitzKathleen R Merikangas

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the association between affective development, puberty, and gender using the startle reflex as a marker of defensive mechanisms. Thirty-one male and thirty-five female adolescents aged ten to thirteen participated in a prospective study with up to five assessments. Longitudinal analyses revealed a significant effect of sex, with girls showing stronger fear-potentiation at all pubertal stages. Post hoc tests revealed that fear-potentiation increased in girls but not boys over the course of puberty. Furthermore, baseline startle decreased over the course of puberty. Because age was included as a covariate in all analyses, the puberty effect cannot be accounted for by age. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence for a significant increase in fear-potentiated startle across the pubertal transition. Attribution of these changes to pubertal status rather than age has important implications for our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety and affect regulation.

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Citations

Feb 24, 2015·Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports·Jennifer C BrittonMichael V Hernandez
Oct 2, 2017·Current Psychiatry Reports·Kristie Garza, Tanja Jovanovic
Jun 5, 2020·Developmental Science·Anaïs F StensonTanja Jovanovic
May 6, 2017·European Journal of Pain : EJP·G AlfvénE Andersson
May 18, 2020·International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology·Kreshnik Burani, Brady D Nelson
Apr 17, 2021·Behavioural Brain Research·Lana Ruvolo Grasser, Tanja Jovanovic
Mar 20, 2018·Journal of Affective Disorders·Sanju SilwalLars Lien

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